Tyler Perrys Developmental Period - Research Paper Example

? Tyler Perry developmental period Introduction Growth is an attribute that is basic to every living organism. It refers to the increase in physical size of organisms, which is a reflection of the subsequent increase in the size of the organs that make up the organism. Development, on the other hand, is a more abstract term referring to the increase in the complexity of an individual. It encompasses both the tangible and the intangible changes experienced in living organisms. While growth is compulsory and takes place more uniformly, development differs since it takes different forms. Some of the developmental features are affected by the ecological system of the individual, which therefore is responsible for the changes experienced in different organisms habiting different ecosystems (Crain, 2011). Humans, just like any other living organism, grow by increasing in physical size. They also develop. However, human development is more complex and encompasses more spheres of life than in other living organisms. Some of the most common aspects of human life that develop differently include cognitive, social, emotional, and physical. Several philosophers have fostered ideas that explain the process of human development. Key among these includes Erick Erikson who devised an eight stage development process. According to him, humans go through eight different stages of development from childhood to late adulthood. He marks the beginning and the end of every stage with humans years; the first being between 0 to 2 years and the eighth being years past fifty-five. He further asserts that for a successful development, one must successfully pass all the challenges of a stage, failure of which the repercussions of the forgone stage are likely to recur at a later stage. This recurrence of behaviors and challenges are mostly retrogressive. Yet another great philosopher, Freud, who gives the development process a psychoanalic approach, shares the idea of recurrence of the negative consequences of a passed stage (Bee &Boyd, 2009). Besides these two, are many others including behaviorist approach fostered by Watson and classical conditioning propagated by Thorndike and Skinner. Practical analysis of the human development process using a human sample makes understanding this entire process a lot easier. Using a familiar personality makes the process more practical .One such personality is Tyler Perry. Tyler Perry Born in 1969, Emmitt Perry was a child just like any other growing in a highly segregated American society. He was exposed to abuse and hatred from a tender age. This was quite unfortunate since it was from the people meant to love him. His father was an alcoholic who beat him from time to time. He hated his farther so passionately that at the age of thirteen, he changed his name from Emmitt to Tyler just to distance himself from him. By then, Emmitt had been sexually molested twice and was to be molested three more times later. He also came to learn of the fact that his father had also molested two of his friends, a knowledge that made him hate his father the more. Emmitt never finished his high school; he drew most of his affection from his mother who would walk him to church once every week. He felt safe inside church and from where he acquired most of his personality traits. He learnt to love and to forgive even though he could not bring himself to forgive his father who beat him every quite often. He progressively developed an interest in writing. He thus recorded his experiences in a composition he entitled I know I have been changed. This is a theme developed by his experiences in church and his affection towards his mother (Burrell, 2010). Perry moved to Atlanta in 1990 where he busied himself with the performance of his book: I know I have been changed in theatres. This was an expensive endeavor which he financed with his $ 12,000 life savings. The play did not perform as he had expected and was a financial loss. He, however, never despaired and kept working on it until it became a boom two years later. By then, he had become successful and had marked his place in Hollywood. A number of American magazines wrote articles on him with Forbes reporting his success in the year 2005. He had sold more than 100 million tickets in the very book. In 2009, Perry lost his beloved mother. To this day, Perry continues to be a media personality and a success story. He owns a number of property in Bulkhead, Atlanta, and many more across America. This is a success story of progressive development. Perry’s growth and development can easily be analyzed through the subtopics below: Cognitive Cognitive development refers to the positive change observed in one’s ability to conceptualize ideas. Perry did not finish his high school but later earned a living out of a career in writing. Perry thus portrays an individual who develop his skills and talents out of the formal institutions. Knowledge accumulates slowly through time. Perry took his time and perfected his prowess in writing. At the first showing when the play performed dismally, he returns to the book, keeps making corrections on it until it is perfect. It, consequently, becomes a success story and turning point in Perry’s hugely successful career in play writing and directing. Social He was born in an abusive society but so did very many African American children at the time. However, his mother’s love nurtures a personality in him that ascribes to different societal values. He believes in love and forgiveness; most of his books and plays depict this. Societal norms are learnt progressively; he not only learns but practices them as well. It is very difficult for one to change his society. Understanding this quite well, Perry moved from his hometown in New Orleans, Louisiana to Atlanta Georgia where he became successful. The Georgian society had intimidated him, abused him, and had therefore betrayed him. He needed to grow past this and concentrate on building his independent life. He could not have all achieved these in New Orleans with the betrayals hanging all around him. He thus moved to a more conducive environment where he forgot his pasts and concentrated on his career (Christian, 2008). Emotional From the different treatments he received from both his parents, Perry develops a great love for his mother but has a strong hatred for his father that he cannot possibly compare to any other feeling within him. He learns to balance between the hate and love and ensures that neither of these feelings affects the wrong person. Perry develops a great sense of love; he shows love and philanthropy even to those not known to him. In 2009, he sponsored 65 children to the Walt Disney World. This proves that despite his past life, one that had betrayed and abused him, he learnt to do otherwise and be a good man in the society. Most of his plays and books run themes on love forgiveness, repentance, and the acceptance of God and Christianity. He admired such a society as a child; the one his mother tried to provide him with. He therefore tries to create one like that. Physical Physical development is referred to as growth; this is natural and largely dependent on the hormonal balance of an individual. Being a boy, he developed the features associated with sex. At adolescence, he developed a broadened chest and a huge masculine frame that he maintains to this day. His voice broke thereabout just as is expected of boys turning into men. In brief, the life of Tyler Perry is a perfect personification of Erikson’s eight-stage theory on human development. With the guidance of his mother, Perry overcame the challenges presented with each of these eight stages to become a very successful man. His mother instills in him the loving, trusting, and forgiving personality. She tried to change his view on the society. While most children of his age could have ran from home, Perry stays until he is of age (Bradley, 2003). These are effective decisions he makes and does not ever regret them. By staying put in New Orleans despite the abusive society, he learns of all the rot in the society and he personally experiences the pains associated by the abuse. In his life, Perry does not abuse anyone’s emotions because he knows how it feels to be broken and betrayed by people dear to one. References Bee, H. &Boyd, D. (2009). The Developing Child (12th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Bradley, F. (2003). Effective transition from young man to manhood. London: Aspen Christian, M. (2008). Becoming Tyler: bill collector turned billion-dollar media mogul was molded from pain, promise and persistence. New York: Ebony. Crain, W. (2011). Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Tom Burrell (2010). Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority. New York, NY: Smiley books. Read More